Huawei MediaPad X1 review

The CNET have published their review of the Huawei MediaPad X1, which contributes even more to blur the boundaries between tablet and smartphone, thanks to the integration of a tablet 7-inch 4G-LTE module that allows you to not only access to the data network but also the ability to make and receive calls.

The tablet is very well built, with a cover made ​​of aluminum alloy, one very content thick and thin frame around the display. The shell is devoid of pushups and ' great assembly . The screen as said is a 7-inch Full HD that offers a density only slightly inferior to that of a mini iPad Retina. The overall quality is therefore high , the wide viewing angle and vivid colors. Even the hardware platform is generally sufficient to ensure good performance, both during daily use with games. The heart of the system is in fact the SoC Hisilicon Kirin 910 , formed by a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU at 1.6 GHz and a GPU ARM Mali 450 MP4, supported by 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of storage space, expandable with microSD cards , the latter option always greatly appreciated.

The concerns arise instead when you switch to the software . Android is smooth and responsive, but Huawei has adopted a version now quite dated, the Jelly Bean 4.2.2, a choice that has not quite convinced our colleagues, who were expecting, if not Android 4.4 Kitkat, at least the 4.3 release of Jelly Bean. The situation is further worsened by the presence of a proprietary interface, Huawei Emotion , which is not liked for two main reasons. In fact, the GUI is not primarily well optimized and is unresponsive, sometimes requiring a few seconds between the command and its execution or during the various transitions. His organization, far from stock Android, it's not been appreciated, especially for the fact that you have deleted the grid view of all installed apps, but now that they are distributed in six different home, organized by function. Eventually, however, the reserves are essentially limited to these aspects.

Instead affects the quality of the camera : Huawei MediaPad X1 in fact has a 5 megapixel front webcam and especially a 13-megapixel rear camera with Sony Exmor RS BSI sensor, which allows you to take pictures of excellent quality for a tablet. Thumb up eventually also for autonomy, thanks to the 5000 mAh battery , which ensures at least the cover of a workday even under heavy use.

You can buy directly from China via AliExpress cost of 359.99 dollars, or about 260 €, it is therefore a valid device, especially for the price point which is proposed, and the particularity of allowing telephone calls also increases the palatability, braking as mentioned exclusively by a sub-software not entirely satisfactory.